100 Theme Drabble Challenge Shadow X Amy
by Guardian of Balance
Summary: Just what it says on the can! As the relationship between these two unlikely hedgehogs grows however, how does the rest of the world take it?
1. Introduction

I've gotten so addicted to the drabble format recently... (also to the new Harvest moon game :D). SO! I've decided to do a few Shad/Amy drabbles...that are sort of interconnected. I just want to look into all the different parts of what could be their relationship, from the conception of the idea (be it from Shadow or Amy's POV or another's entirely) to the reaction to their relationship, to their first fight, engagement, marriage, etc. I'd like to use this as a way to practice not just my way of writing Shadow and Amy's relationship with eachother but their relationships with the other people in their lives. For example, how would Sonic react to Shadow being Amy's new main man? How would Rouge feel about her most level-headed partner pacing the rec room because of a fight he has with his girlfriend?

This is based in the comic-verse because...I'm just really obsessed with how well built all the characters and the world is in general. However, I'm going to mix some of the video game elements because...just because. XD I love the introduction and their interactions throughout Sonic Adventure 2. They stopped developing their relationship after that game but I feel like everything was perfect in that game. I'd like to build off of that foundation. Especially since as far as the comics are concerned the first time they see each other is when the Xorda came to destroy Mobius...and there was absolutely no interaction between them, with no further ado...this is the 100 themes challenge for Shadow and Amy Rose.

* * *

**Introduction**

Theirs was a strange beginning. A simple misunderstanding that started a dance neither of them had any intention of beginning.

He was on an island trying to steal 3 of the highest sources of power in the world...

She was there to save who she claimed to be her future husband...

Neither was looking for the other and yet...

"Oh Sonic! I thought I'd never see you again! I'm so glad you made it!"

For a moment time froze.

He had not been shown any signs of affection in so long. Longer than he'd care to remember. The back of his mind stirred with old feelings of warmth...even of...

He shook his head and instead urged his mind to file this as an assault...a poor one. While the back of his mind called the forefront a liar, he waited to assess the situation further; something the back of his mind refused to argue with.

She had not seen her beloved in so long. She felt an unbelievable amount of relief. The last she had heard was that he had been captured for a robbery he didn't commit. She just knew it wasn't her Sonic! Even if the hedgehog in the video looked so much like him.

"It was dark," she rationalized, "It can't be Sonic! And I'm just the girl to help him out!"

And there he was, in her arms, safe and sound. The front of her mind reprimanded the back for seeding any doubts in her mind that Sonic would not be ok. That he would be in any way responsible for the mysterious...

She paused as she nuzzled into the hedgehog's fur. The smell...it wasn't Sonic.

For her Sonic smelled something more like what a fresh breeze would smell like...if it had a smell. Wild, cool, and light were things that came to mind whenever she would take in his scent. This guy though...his was a warmer smell; more earthy with a slight metallic twinge to it. The back of her mind was intrigued by this but the front was deeply alarmed. Amy looked down at the fur and realized it was dark...

"Black," she thought suddenly.

Shadow felt the presence behind him tense for a moment before it stepped back. As she took a step back he turned to assess his assaulter.

She was of average height for a hedgehog, just 3 inches or so shorter than him standing tall. Her fur was of a light, rosy pink but her muzzle, arms and legs were a paler tan color, not unlike sand. It was her eyes that caught him the most. Green emeralds that sparkled with curiosity and courage. Her red dress and boots were of little consequence to him. He knew from the very beginning she was not a threat...

..Until...

"You're not Sonic! Just who are you anyway?" the pink hedgehog demanded.

Time seemed to speed up after Amy realized that she had just hugged a complete stranger. A black hedgehog with crimson streaks going through his hair, arms and legs. He wore no clothes, as most mobian men chose to do. She didn't particularly care at that moment, however. Fear and anger bloomed in her heart as she understood that she had hugged one of Eggman's goons and that she had just interrupted one of his grand schemes. She did not want to be captured again, so she ran as though her life depended on it; as it always had.

Shadow stepped forward slightly, as though to comfort her as the girl ran screaming. He caught himself just as Eggman began to talk again.

"Argh! Amy, your timing is impeccable!" Eggman growled, "Leave it to me! I'll take care of her. You two, Go!"

Shadow was suddenly overcome with a sense of purpose. And shame. He had forgotten his original objective and that was inexcusable. He rushed to complete his task: setting the bombs in the armory while Rouge collected the chaos emeralds. He rushed forward to complete his objective, setting the pink hedgehog to the back of his mind. Throughout the rest of the day and into the final stages of his plan, he couldn't help but think back on her. Those moments would come briefly but in moments of pensive thought, usually as he thought of Maria. Every time he would wonder if she was ok. And every time he would conclude that it wouldn't matter in the end anyway. If he ever saw her again, it would be to enact Maria's last wish: her revenge.

Amy would think on him too, if briefly and infrequently. Who was he? Why was he on Eggman's side? Why did he look so much like Sonic? In the end, she would always conclude, it didn't matter. If she saw him again, she would give him a good smack upside the head with her hammer to set him straight.

Yet in their next meeting both would do nothing against the other. One would shed light on the true path and the other would follow it without another thought.

Yes, theirs was a strange dance indeed. One that would take a very long time for either to realize what they had begun. Only time will tell how it will end.

* * *

So there's introductions! Next up is: Complicated! That'll be a fun one! Stay tuned!


	2. Complicated

Hi everyone! So complicated has gotten complicated... it's taken me a while to decide what I wanted to do for this. I thought I would bring up an issue that had been brought up from another fanfic that I read a very long time ago. Maybe it wasn't how I would have wanted to do myself but it was a great ending none the less. This is VERY loosely based off of that story. It's the same issue that is brought up but from a different point in the relationship where Amy and Shadow are concerned. I can't remember the name off hand, however. SO! Here's complicated!

* * *

**Complicated**

Sally sat in front of the dresser, examining her reflection in he mirror.

Flesh.

Not just flesh but fur and nails to boot. She had finally become real again, thanks to Mega Man. After he had managed to deroboticise everyone else during the 2nd Genesis reboot, he had shot her down. She had finally been able to go home...

...Sort of. While she had been welcomed into the city she had found a few things amiss. Her brother was in hiding. Naugus had become King. St. John was a traitor. Antoine was still in a coma and Bunny was still missing. They had thought that they could set off their own Genesis reset button, but it was far too risky. For the time being, that was a last resort.

Worse, there was seemingly nothing she could do to remedy the situation. Everything that she did that was even remotely involved with the state was viewed as "over-reaching within her present status". It was St. John's ever so eloquent way of saying, "Butt out, this is not your problem anymore." Sonic tried to help as best as he could to keep her occupied and give her ideas, but nothing was helping with her frustrations.

She needed to find an outlet, or she would burst.

Suddenly the door knocked rather lightly at first before exploding into all out pounding on the door.

"Come in," she called out, smoothing out her features to be as neutral as possible.

The door opened tentatively to show a pink hedgehog open the door and step halfway through it.

"Amy?" Sally's face did not change, but her voice betrayed her surprise, "What's wrong?"

Amy looked the very picture of uncomfortable. Her head was down, but her eyes looked up at Sally as though she had just done something wrong. Her voice was soft when she asked her, "Can I...talk to you about something? And promise not to tell?"

Sally paused for a minute. She and Amy had never been particularly close. Sure, their relationship had gotten more stable over the years, but they weren't particularly on girl-talk terms. So why was she asking for _her_ for some time to talk. Why not Tails? Jules? Bernie? Rob...

...or Sonic?

"Please, come in!" Sally motioned towards the bed. She knew better than to try and frighten Amy with her suspicions. If she questioned it too much Amy would run and not be able to talk to anyone about what was going on. Whatever was going on that she felt she could only talk to Sally about it.

Amy closed the door behind her quietly and made her way to the bed silently, but deep in thought. Sally followed her to the other side and tilted her head in confusion. Amy wouldn't look Sally in the eye and she was playing with her fingers.

"So..."

"I have feelings for...someone," Amy confessed, "Someone...not Sonic. I want help getting rid of them."

On the outside, Sally was calm, cool, and collected as she always was. Inside, however, was a completely different story. Everything about Amy had been Sonic. Joining the Freedom Fighters, learning to fight, coming to Knothole Village...all that had been for Sonic. To have Amy suddenly declare that there was someone else in her life...

"I...see," Sally said carefully, "They must be... quite the person."

There was an awkward silence for a while before Amy just shook her head and gave Sally an angry glare.

"That's it!? Some guy?" she cried, "You're not even going to ask who or why?"

Sally folded her hands as she finally sat on the bed.

"Will you tell me if I ask?" Sally asked, "You seem uncomfortable enough with the idea as it is."

Amy's mouth slammed shut as a blush bloomed across her face. She paced the room again and would look between Sally and the wall about 3 times before she stopped and murmured something.

"Amy, I can't hear..."

"Shadow..."

Sally's eyes lit up in surprise as she cried out, "Shadow?!"

"Keep it down, do you want someone to hear you?!" Amy yelled back in horror.

Sally froze in that moment. What she'd heard about the black hedgehog were told to her from Sonic; she'd never spoken with him herself. She'd heard Sonic call him a faker, not even truly a hedgehog. Something that had been created rather than born. He was broody, melodramatic, and introverted.

Then again...

Whenever Sonic had mentioned him, it was in the same boasting voice that he once used to talk about Knuckles.

"It seems they are rivals in more ways than one," Sally thought to herself, "Shadow has beaten Sonic in a way that no one ever thought possible. This would be amusing if it wasn't so shocking."

"So what am I supposed to do?!" Amy whispered shrilly, "Sonic and I are going to be married someday! Now Shadow's in the way and I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

Sally paused to think carefully about her response. There was a lot to contemplate. But first...

"Do you still love Sonic?" Sally asked.

"O...Of course!" Amy exclaimed, "There's never been a doubt in my mind that Sonic and I will be together in the end. What kind of question is that?!"

"Why?"

"Wh...What?"

"Why do you love Shadow?" Sally inquired.

Amy shook her head again, "I don't love him! It's just a stupid crush!"

Sally would have rolled her eyes if she felt it wouldn't set Amy off. She should have known better than trying to get a straight answer from Amy when she barely understood her own feelings about the matter. That's why Amy had come to see her in the first place.

A more subtle approach was necessary here.

"When did this start?" she tried again.

Amy stood up, her hand clenched over her heart, "I...saw him at Mina's concert a couple of weeks ago..."

Sally tilted her head in confusion, "What...was he doing there?"

"He's a fan of Mina's music," Amy waved a hand dismissively as a small smile began to grow on her face, "I know, I didn't think he was the type to like that sort of thing either..."

* * *

Amy regarded Shadow with suspicion. He didn't seem the type to enjoy any music, let alone Mina's music. Yet here he was in line to get a ticket to see the Forget-me-knots! Not that he was particularly dressed for the part. He was in his usual attire (or lack thereof) his arms crossed with his signature scowl on his face. Although it had lit up with surprise (even relief?) as he spotted Amy after she had accosted him in her confusion.

"You didn't take any of your friends with you?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"If you're referring to my teammates...they didn't wish to attend."

Now that didn't surprise Amy in the least. Rouge probably thought this was all beneath her. And the robot...?

"Not nearly violent enough for him," she decided.

"Will that be all?" he asked, pulling her out of her brief thoughts.

She regarded Shadow then, realizing he had a thoroughly annoyed look on his face.

"Sorry," she finally said, "I didn't mean to bug you..."

"I can't say I don't understand your suspicion," he started, his face easing into a look of guilt, "Especially after the way my team and I treated you and Blaze."

Now that stung, "You were only following orders," she conceded, "And you did the right thing in the end. I do mean it, I am sorry. Some habits die a bit hard."

He nodded, "I can relate."

An awkward silence bloomed before Amy finally spoke up, "Well, I'm going to go find my seat! I'm sorry again for bugging you."

Shadow nodded to the line in front of him, "No trouble. I'm just surprised there are so many seats in this stadium."

That confused Amy, "Why do you say that?"

Shadow regarded her with his own look of confusion, "This is the line to get inside, yes? I already have my ticket."

A small giggle erupted from Amy before a glare from Shadow silenced her. Still the smile remained behind her hand as her eyes glittered with mirth.

"You're in the wrong line. These are people waiting for a chance to fill the seats that are open from people cancelling their tickets."

Shadow's face fell as he placed his fingers between his eyes in aggravation, "I've been here for over an hour now."

Amy's face grew an evil grin, "So even the ultimate life form gets lost every once in a while?"

Shadow rolled his eyes as he made his way out of the line, "I'm hardly lost."

Amy laughed again, "Ok ok, I'm sorry! Want to come with me? I'm heading to my seat too."

Shadow paused a moment to regard her suspiciously.

"I promise, I won't laugh at you anymore! Really!"

Shadow continued to regard her before he smirked, "You're worse than the blue hedgehog."

"Thank you," she smiled as she led the way past the line, "Sonic and I are destined to be together someday."

Shadow snorted as he followed, "Quite the pair you'll be...once he's over the squirrel."

Amy stuck out her tongue at this, "Sonic can have his fun now. Until then, I can wait!"

Shadow snorted as Amy led the way to their seats...

* * *

"Sonic didn't see him, but Shadow sat a few rows in front of us and a bit to the side," Amy continued as she was now seated on the chair in front of Sally's dresser/mirror. Her demeanor was much calmer, and a smile graced her face as she told the story, "He wasn't dancing or anything. He just had this odd smile on his face and he was bobbing his head to the beat of the songs. He was really enjoying the concert! So afterwards I went to go see how he liked it."

Sally frowned at this. She was at the concert as well. She'd never noticed that Shadow had been there. Then again she had been distracted by other things; she hadn't had much fun at the concert.

"So...that was all?" she asked tentatively.

Amy looked aside, "Well no, we got ice cream after the show..."

Now that gave Sally pause, "You...went out to get ice cream...with Shadow?"

"It wasn't like it was a date or anything!" Amy began to blush, "I found out he likes vanilla ice cream...so we went out to get some."

* * *

"There's this great place that's still open right now!" Amy pulled Shadow behind her excitedly, "He makes everything fresh at his shop."

Shadow allowed himself to be pulled behind her, although Amy couldn't see what was going on behind her. He held on loosely to her hand for a moment before running to catch up so they were running/skating side by side.

"Oh ya? Don't need my help?" Amy smirked, "I bet you can't beat me to the shop!"

Amy let go of his hand as she began running down the street at top speed. She felt a breeze beside her. As Amy looked to her side, Shadow was keeping a steady pace right beside her. He returned her look with a small smirk of his own. She began laughing as she ran as quickly as she could to the shop.

* * *

"He beat me, of course, but he didn't rub it in or anything...not with words anyway. Anyway, we went inside and we ordered our ice cream and we just...sat and talked a bit."

"It wasn't awkward?"

"No, not really," Amy shrugged, "I mean, he's no conversationalist, but he's just...funny! He doesn't mean to be funny but he's just...interesting I guess."

"Well, I'm glad your date went well at any rate..."

"It's not like that Sally!" Amy cried, "It's...different from what I feel about Sonic. It's not like being friends though it's...complicated. It won't go away. He's...there's more to him than anyone thought there was. He's an honest guy and if people tried to talk to him more, they'd understand that."

Sally had a lot to absorb with all that she had heard. Amy definitely had a crush on the hedgehog, that was for certain. Personally, she felt that it would be healthier for Amy to pursue a relationship beyond Sonic. Amy had grown a lot as a person, but a lot of that growth revolved completely around Sonic. It was time for her to branch out on her own, away from Sonic.

But was it really wise to suggest she branch out towards another guy? If that was the case, then Amy would only grow for other people, not for herself. Was that necessarily a good message as well.

"This is certainly more complicated than I thought it would be," Sally finally admitted, "But why do you want to be rid of the feelings so badly? Sonic and I...well, we're doing fairly well right now and we're happy with how things are. You have a chance at that sort of happiness as well. Why not take the chance and see where that goes?"

"Because Sonic is my future!" Amy cried, "He's always been my future. Ever since he saved me from Eggman that first time, even before then! I owe him so much I..."

Amy suddenly paused for a moment as it dawned on Sally just why Amy was so adamantly attached to Sonic.

"You feel like you owe him your life." Sally finally sighed, "Amy, I know you love him. I can understand why. And maybe you'll always have feelings for Sonic. But doing so based on the idea that you owe Sonic your life is not a healthy way to live. I suggest you let your feelings guide you here. Give Shadow a chance for now. And if things don't work out, then they don't work out. Amy, you are a young hedgehog, you have so much of your life ahead of you. I know a lot of our work is, "if this doesn't work now, then we're doomed" but that's just a part of our life. Granted it's a rather large part of our lives, but not all of it."

"But..." Amy took a shaking breath, "If it does work out. If we do end up liking each other; what'll happen to Sonic?"

"Let Sonic worry about Sonic," Sally smiled, "He's a big hedgehog, he can figure it out for himself. Where love is concerned you need to worry about your feelings and the feelings of the person you like, not anyone else."

Amy sighed, "Easier said than done."

"You're very big-hearted Amy," Sally said, "But take care of yourself first. Maybe try to set something up with Shadow next time you see him?"

"I don't know...it's more..."

"Complicated?" Sally finished, "Give it some thought for now, then let me know how it turns out."

Amy nodded and turned towards the door, but just before she opened it, she swung back with a suspicious glare on her face, "And you're not telling anyone, right?"

Sally zipped her mouth and threw away the imaginary key for emphasis, "Not a soul."

Amy smiled, "Thanks Sally. I appreciate the help. I'll...let you know how things go..."

With that Amy turned back around and headed out the door. She had a lot more to think about now.

Sally watched her leave with an amused look in her eye, "Interesting indeed...I wonder if they ever replaced Ask Aly since I stopped writing the columns. Maybe I'll ask Nicole if she's interested in helping me with that again."

* * *

And that's complicated! Sorry if it seems a bit choppy, but I really wanted to include something to do with other characters besides Shadow and Amy. Anyway, next up is Making History! Now that one's going to be even more complicated than before! So...what to do, what to do...I'll figure it out eventually. Anyway, see y'all next time!


	3. Making History

And then I got addicted to Nightcore. They do some pretty awesome rock songs but my favorite is between barracuda's Where is the Love and Once upon a December cover by KatetheGreat19. Anyway, Making History's been a bit of a drag for me, if only because I didn't really know what to say about it. So I got to thinking about what "Making History" is. What about Amy and Shadow's story makes it historical? Just because it exists? Well, that just sounds like a shallow cop-out answer so I thought a little deeper. Then I thought with frustration, "When the hell did I get so attached to them?"

Then it clicked.

They made history for me because of one scene in particular. I still don't know why, but it moved me. And let's face it, we all know this scene and it was the scene that launched me into shipping what is now my own OTP. Once I got that down then I was able to just blow right through the chapter in a matter of an hour or so.

But then, how boring would it be if I just wrote out that scene? Everyone knows it, and let's be frank, that would just be an absolutely lazy bit of writing on my part. So, I've decided to take a more in-depth look at this scene and maybe a little something extra that I couldn't help but feel was missing before.

So, here it is!

* * *

**Making History**

"Ugh! I hate it when they leave me behind!"

Amy stomped through the corridors frustrated with every bit of the situation she was in. The big hunk of forgotten space metal was hurtling towards Mobius at an astounding rate and would crash in less than half an hour. Everyone had already thrown together a last ditch effort to stop the chaos emeralds.

Well...everyone except for her was helping out anyway.

Amy kicked an imaginary rock as she cursed her own uselessness. Hadn't she spent much of her time in the last couple of weeks training with Rob to be better? Faster? More agile? Why couldn't she help out? Why wouldn't they let her?

"Right...because even after everything I still got kidnapped by Eggman!" she cried as she turned to kick the wall, "It's not f..."

She stopped mid-kick as she realized the wall she had been about to kick was in fact a door that had 'whooshed' opened. Yet more surprising than the fact that the door opened was who was inside brooding in front of a window.

Amy had nearly forgotten she wasn't the only one who wasn't helping out at the moment. She put her foot down as she studied the dark hedgehog who was watching Mobius grow ever closer. He refused to look at her, although one ear was turned to face her, as though vaguely interested in what she had to say. One hand hung limp beside him while the other rested on the windowsill in front of him.

Amy's first reaction was to be angry with this great brooding lump who was able to help and simply refused to. More than that, it was his fault this series of events took place at all.

And yet...

_"All of you ungrateful humans- who too everything away from me- will feel my loss...and despair."_

"That gruesome message...was that how Shadow felt too?" Amy thought, gingerly placing her foot down and turning away.

She paced a bit outside the room, a very familiar mixture of feelings building up inside her; sympathy, the need to do something...

...the need to reach out to someone who needed help.

That was one that confused Amy more than anything. She'd only had that once, when she was trapped in Eggman's cell and she had spoken to Gamma...

And Gamma had listened...

Something clicked in Amy as she looked at her watch.

"Not even 20 minutes left..." she thought glumly, "They're going to need all the help they can get."

She regarded Shadow once more through the door, a feeling of apprehension building inside for the hedgehog that had willingly put together the destruction of the entire world. Would he be willing to listen once she started talking? Would it even work? The doubts started to pile up in her mind as she clutched her hands over her heart.

She shook her head, because she knew what her heart was screaming at her to do.

"I really gotta stop whining," she whispered, steeling herself for what was to come, "I'm going to be a Freedom Fighter! Everyone's doing their best to help out, and so must I!"

She nodded to herself as she walked over to Shadow, still unsure just how to give him a piece of her mind.

Eventually, ever the blunt Amy Rose just blurted it out, "Shadow we need your help!"

* * *

Now that surprised him.

His eyes turned to regard the pink hedgehog at the edge of his vision, a brow raised in confusion. Why would she think he would want to help her or her group of friends at all? Especially after he'd gone through all the trouble to find the chaos emeralds himself.

"Troublesome," he thought briefly as he examined Amy Rose, as he recalled the Doctor calling her earlier. Her emerald green eyes were filled with both a solid determination and a deep apprehension.

"Rightly so," he thought, "I could kill her if I wanted to..."

The thought was a little more than he could stomach, however. For some reason, the thought of scaring her, even more than he had about a day ago on Prison Island, bothered him more than anything at this point.

"It's too late," a voice whispered in he back of his mind. The same voice that had driven him since the moment the doctor woke him up. The same voice that sounded oddly like the Professor, "This is what Maria wanted. This is what that girl deserves. What the world deserves. It will not matter soon anyway."

His heart sank a little at that. The most he could do would be to comfort her, once the moment drew near. Especially since her friends had insisted on leaving her alone (again, he thought with annoyance) to deal with a problem they had no hope of solving.

Then again, what does one say to someone who is about to die?

"It's all going according to plan," he finally said. Shadow had never been one to sugar-coat anything, "There's nothing I could do to help them, even if I wanted to. Besides, there's no way to save anyone..."

His hand touched the window, as though reaching out towards the Earth, ignoring the pain in his heart at having to destroy something that Maria...

His thoughts stopped there, as they always had. The feeling of resolution filling him slowly where before it had been anger and determination. Whatever Maria's feelings towards the planet then were not the same now. They would receive her ultimate judgment.

"There has to be!"

Shadow suddenly turned fully to look at the girl beside him, his full attention on her. She was shaking, with a desperate look in her eyes and her hand clenched over her heart.

"I know people fight over the most trivial things," she started, "Some people are selfish and cruel, like the professor said. But there are people down there that are good. They try their best everyday and never give up on their wishes. That's why Sonic...that's why the Freedom Fighters work so hard, everyday, to try to help the people down there who do their best. So that, no matter what, those people always have a reason to be happy! That's why you should help them out."

This set something off in Shadow more than anything else. At first it was the same twinge of familiarity that spawned whenever he thought about what Maria would want. Amy's words oddly echoed something he had heard so long ago...

It was abruptly stopped, and replaced with different emotions. Resolution left and anger flared up. That ever familiar anger that had driven him for the past three days.

"Why do they deserve happiness?" Shadow whispered, his eyes narrowed in a glared that made Amy flinch.

Amy stepped back unnerved by this outburst. Shadow stepped forward matching every step back she took with one of his own. Each step made the deep, desperate look in his own ruby eyes match Amy's that much more.

"Why do they deserve mercy? After all the horrors they committed here?" he asked accusingly his voice gathering a dangerous edge as it rose, "Where was Maria's mercy? That they should condemn a small, innocent girl to death for my very existence? Where was her happiness when all she wanted was to be on that disgusting orb you call home and was instead killed for her trouble? Why should I make them happy, when they would rather I had fallen off the face of the earth? Why do they deserve anything but what I am about to give them now? How is that fair?!"

* * *

At first Amy was frightened when Shadow rounded on her. She backed away as he continued his tirade, his deep blood red eyes flashed with every word he threw at her. But after maybe the third (ok...maybe the fifth?) step, she stopped, suddenly understanding why he was doing this.

Sure she _knew_ why he and the Professor had done what they did, but now she _understood_. Not many people really knew the difference between knowing and understanding. She gave a deep sigh once he was finished, allowing a look of great sympathy to spread across her face to combat his look of absolute anger and pain.

"Because the people down there now are not the same people that hurt her," Amy said sagely, "They're gone now. And all that's left are the people that Sonic and the Freedom fighters work everyday to protect. I know you're angry. I would probably do the same thing if Sonic asked me to..."

"Then you know why this must be done."

"I would if Sonic had asked me to destroy the world," she said, "But...I wouldn't love Sonic like I do if he asked me to do that. That wouldn't be Sonic, because he loves this world so much. And...I don't think Maria would want you to destroy the world that she loved so much."

A look of absolute grief flitted through Shadow's face before he shook his head, "She deserves..."

"No!" Amy suddenly burst out, "She doesn't deserve revenge. No one deserves to have something like that on their memory. Do you think she'd be happy to see you now? Destroying the world she loved so much?"

Shadow clutched his head as he hunched over and closed his eyes, as though in great pain, "Shut up...you don't know what you're talking about."

"I know Sonic would never forgive me if I did all this for him."

The moment she said it, she knew she'd pushed it too far. Shadow's eyes flashed open as she shoved Amy roughly away, raising his hands to prepare a chaos spear.

* * *

"I'll kill her," he thought, "She doesn't know! She can't possibly know!"

He was only vaguely aware that his thoughts were the same whispers in the back of his mind that had pushed him so far.

In his heart, he knew she was right. Maria would never...

"But she has!" the voice cried, "She begged us with her dying breath! She deserves their blood! Her blood!"

His heart was too wounded...to broken to fight with the voice in his mind. He held the chaos spear over his head, allowing the voice and his anger to fuel his actions.

He was about to bring the chaos spear crashing down when he heard her say it...

"Shadow...please..."

His eyes concentrated on her slumped form, tears forming in her eyes that refused to fall. Her voice was so small, and yet filled with so much conviction he could hear nothing else, "I beg you...do it for them. Just give them a chance..."

Suddenly his face fell, and the feeling of absolute grief and familiarity engulfed him, as he remembered his last words to Maria.

_"Shadow...please do it for me, for a better future!" she had said over his cries to let him out of the capsule._

_She had managed to lock the soldiers out of the escape room, but not before one of them had shot her on the left shoulder. Shadow had been about to send her down when she encapsulated him first. Blood poured out of her wound as she began inputing all the coordinates through her pain._

_"For all the people who live on that planet," she continued on, as Shadow banged against the sides of the capsule, demanding that she be sent first, "Give them a chance...to be happy!"_

_"Maria, please!" he'd begged, "You're going to bleed out! You're going to..."_

_"Shadow..." she continued on, "Let them live out their dreams. Please...I know you can do this... that is why you were brought into this world."_

_Shadow's face fell, "Maria..."_

_She blew a little kiss to him, before she pressed the send button, "Sayonara...Shadow...the Hedgehog."_

The chaos spear suddenly dissipated as the memory faded and the voice in his mind fell so suddenly silent.

"That was what I promised her," he thought, the grief (and...was that relief?) filling his mind, "And I must keep that promise..."

He felt a tear fall down his cheek. As he said quietly, "That was what she wished for."

"Shadow?"

He looked up. Amy was no longer slumped over but standing in front of him, her hands hovered around him, as though not sure how to help him.

Suddenly his thoughts were going a mile a minute. There was an old corridor that let straight to the core. He only had about fifteen minutes left...

"I have to go now," he said excitedly, "I have to fulfill my promise to Maria...and you..."

He sped out of the room, allowing this new, more noble sense of purpose fill him as he raced towards the core.

* * *

Amy stood there a few moments before a relieved smile spread across her face.

"Good luck, Shadow!" she murmured.

She waited a while longer before people started trickling in, letting her know what was going on. About ten minutes later, Eggman informed the two hedgehogs that the prototype was still alive. The hedgehogs went super and finished off the beast in less than five minutes.

With a great flash the colony was set to rights and all she had to do was wait for her hedgehogs to make their way back to the lab room...

Her heart fell when she saw that Sonic was the only one to make it through. Shadow had died to save the world that Maria had loved so much. She cried with both relief and grief as she stared out the window.

"I hope she's happy to see you," she whispered more to herself, "And...I hope to see you again someday...Shadow..."

* * *

One Year Later

"She really did that?" Amy laughed.

They were sitting in the same ice cream place where they had had their first...

Well, Amy was loathe to call it a 'date' per-say. Ever since her talk with Sally, any mention of Shadow as a...that, caused shivers to go up and down her spine and a big fat NO to blare through her whole mind.

But then...that didn't mean they couldn't just be friends! And that sure as hell didn't mean they couldn't get ice cream every once in a while when he was in town!

Shadow rolled his eyes, a small smirk playing on his face despite his bemused air, "She thought it was funny for some reason. It took me quite a while to get the dirt out of my quills."

Amy giggled, "All because she wanted you to know what Mobius felt like?"

Shadow took another spoonful of his ice cream as he nodded, "She was always rather thoughtful in a misguided way."

A look of longing passed over his eyes as Amy sat her spoon down and placed her hand over his.

"I think she's really happy for you now," she smiled, "I think she'd be really proud of you too."

Normally Shadow would have taken this as presumptuous. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd thought as much of the little pink upstart. Although now he felt comforted by the feel of her hand and the pure emotion in her eyes. The image of the presumptuous pink hedgehog was gone and the image of someone who was saying what they _meant_ for a change was all he saw.

He wouldn't admit it, but it was a relief to know there would be no lies or games with Amy.

"Thank you," he finally said with a small smile.

As the night wore on, it finally came time for Shadow to leave and for Amy to go home. The said their good byes as she went one way and he another.

It wasn't long before Shadow realized he wasn't alone.

"Well, wasn't that sweet?" a sultry voice called out.

Shadow's gaze lifted up as Rouge the Bat came to land beside him. He regarded her with a curious look before replying, "You were watching."

It wasn't a question, "I was just passing by and I had to ask myself, 'Why is big strong silent Shadow the Hedgehog hanging around Sonic's number one loudest fan?'"

Shadow rolled his eyes as he continued on his path back to the outskirts of the city, "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

Rouge frowned inwardly. Shadow had never been an easy nut to crack.

"Really!" she tried again, "I'm your friend, Shadow, your team mate! You can't tell me what all that was about?"

Suddenly Shadow stopped, "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Rouge inspected her nails as she stopped beside him, "Especially considering Ms. Pinky over there may have thought that was a bit more than a friendly chat you were having..."

Shadow glared, suddenly on guard, "What does that mean?"

"Oh, this is going to be fun..." she thought with a smirk.

"I'm just saying, she looked a bit oddly happy to see you earlier..."

"How long had you been watching?" Shadow suddenly asked, "Why were you watching to begin with?"

"I was on my usual recon mission," she shrugged, "You know we need that chaos emerald they have with them! I saw you two and I couldn't help but watch. I think you two look adorable together..."

She inwardly chuckled when she saw Shadow still looking at her with confusion. She was slightly disappointed when he finally sighed and said, "I'm not in the mood for games, Rouge, just tell me what you're thinking so we may call it a night."

She huffed, "Men, honestly..."

Then an idea struck her suddenly. A way to mess with Ms. Pinky and make it that much easier to take the chaos emerald. She could already see Shadow was getting way too attached to a certain hedgehog and if that compassion got in the way of the Chaos emerald like it had to Sol emerald?

Well... it simply wasn't acceptable.

"Forget it." Rouge said finally, "If you can't figure it out, then you're hopeless..."

Shadow snorted as a small smirk sported his face, "Fine. Good night."

He raced for the edge of town before he brought out his chaos emerald to Chaos control home. He wanted to hurry back to see when that one ice cream place he'd first tried was open and how much Amy would prefer that to the one in New Mobotropolis...

* * *

Quite a bit more dramatic than it was originally, but I couldn't help but feel the first time around that it was a bit easy on Amy's part to convert him in the end. Besides, Amy's known for pushing things a bit too far sometimes, I figured this would be no exception.

Anyway, next up is Rivalry. This one may be a bit harder, if only because I'm not too terribly practiced with Rouge's character and I can't think of any reason for Amy to be in the UF unless she's on Team Fighter business.

Until then, review, favorite or follow! Let me know what you think and I'll see what I can do! See ya next time!


End file.
